This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: RD_McCombs Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.missouri.counties.washington/8038.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: I believe that Potosi has always been in Washington County. But the land where Potosi sits today was once a part of St Francois County, but that was long before Potosi was built. Typically, early American counties were much larger than the counties that we're familiar with today. After the settlers moved in and the population rose, these huge "mega-counties" were carved up and subdivided into the smaller counties we have today. A good example of this was St Louis County: More than 200 years ago it reached from St Louis City to the Kansas state line and included most of the Ozarks. St Louis County was practically all of the land south of the Missouri River. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.